Heavenly Tides
by Relm Wanderer
Summary: An AU that has Gourry and Sylphiel living in two very different worlds. Sylphiel is a mermaid living in the sea and Gourry is a wingling living in the clouds above. Both of them dreamers, dreaming of places they can't go.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: So you can see this is a Gourry/Sylphiel fic. I'm writing this for my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine relm . bravepages . com And as such I'm posting it on the shrine before here. I'm going to delay it a week before I post it here. So if you like this story go to my shrine for the next part. Couplewise you can expect Gourry/Sylphiel for sure, maybe Zangulus/Martina, Amelia/Pokota, Valgaav/Naga and Xellos/Filia. Not sure how much of those couples will show up but probably a little bit. To all my fellow Lina/Zel fans I'm sorry I've kinda sabotaged that couple option. I could perhaps manage it but I don't want to have two wingling/merperson couples going on as it would detract from Gourry/Sylphiel. So I apologize. _

**Heavenly Tides**

Chapter One, The Sea Below

By Relm

To want things you couldn't have was a universal thing. It didn't matter what race you were it was always the same thing.

Like if you lived in the ocean you'd want to up in the sky. If you lived in the sky you want to be in the ocean. And if you lived on land you would dream of both far off places.

Or at least that's what Sylphiel thought. She was a sea dwelling creature; a mermaid. The ocean was a wonderful place with such beauty but often Sylphiel found herself looking up. The sky was like a mirror to the sea. It would the most pristine blue or clouded with dark stormy fury. She wondered what it was like up there in the sky. To fly with the birds and sleep in the clouds. It seemed so magical and wonderful.

But alas Sylphiel was a mermaid. She would never get to know what it would be like to fly or be up in the sky.

What she could was go on land, but even that seemed like a tease. When you had a fishtail instead of legs you couldn't travel very far. And a mermaid could only stay out of the water for so long before they had to go back. So no matter what Sylphiel was stuck to stay near the water. And even though the land did have many fantastic things to see Sylphiel would still look up at the heavens above.

"Sylphiel there you go again with your head in the sea foam." A very disgusted female voice broke Sylphiel from her thoughts.

Sylphiel looked to the source of the voice. It was Lina a fellow mermaid who as usual had a scowl on her face. "Good morning Lina." Sylphiel greeted her friend.

"What the hell is so interesting up there that you constantly have to look? It's just white, blue and grey up there. So boring." Lina scoffed while brushing her long wavy red hair. Out of all the mermaids of Siaraag Cove Lina was regarded as one of the prettiest and that was because of her hair. Most mermaids tended to have hair that blended in with the sea, colours of blue, green, black and turquoise. Those with blond or red hair were very rare and were regarded as being very attractive. Lina knew everyone thought she was beautiful and she relished in that fact. Because Lina did love attention after all.

"Don't you dream Lina? Of what it would be like to live up there?" Sylphiel asked with her voice far off.

Lina rolled her eyes. "There's way more food here and a lot more colour. If I had to pick any place to live but the ocean I'd pick land. It's way more interesting. I had some land dweller food once, it was really good!"

Now it was Sylphiel's turn to roll her eyes. No matter what Lina always seemed to shift the focus of any conversation to food. "So is there a reason why the prettiest mermaid of Siaraag Cove has decided to grace me with her presence?"

"Your father sent me to get you. It seems he has something important to talk to you about." Lina explained while snacking on some seaweed.

Sylphiel let out a heavy sigh; she knew what that important conversation was going to be. "I guess I'd better go."

"I would, he seemed pretty serious about it. He even threatened me if I didn't get you right away."

"Okay I'm going." Sylphiel swam her way back to the undersea kingdom, her raven blue hair waving in the currents shimmering from the light that penetrated from the sky above.

Siaraag Cove was a kingdom home to many mermaids and mermen. It was one of the five largest coves of the eastern sea. And at the moment it was also the place of the great merpeople gathering.

Once a year all the leaders of the neighbouring coves all gathered in Siaraag to discuss political matters. Siaraag was chosen to be this venue because it was also home to Flagoon, the largest sea tree in all the oceans. Sea trees were considered very sacred and often merpeople from all around would gather to offer their prayers and seek the tree's blessings.

With all the kings and queens of the neighbouring coves Sylphiel knew exactly what her father wanted to talk to her about. Sylphiel was King Erik's daughter after all, and would eventually have to succeed her father in taking the throne. And with all the royal families gathered this was as good of a chance as any to set up relations for future marriages.

The five great coves were Siaraag, Sailune, Zoanna, Atlas and Tarforashia. And the royal families of these kingdoms had gathered in Siaraag no doubt to discuss the subject of royal matching. If the children were to become kings and queens they would have to marry princes and princesses. And here in lies the problem.

Sylphiel was an only child. Her mother died in childbirth having Sylphiel. And though King Erik should have remarried he couldn't. He just couldn't get other the death of his dear Mia to ever love again. So Sylphiel had no siblings to rely on to take the throne in her place. It was very important that she got the affections of one of the princes of the neighbouring coves.

Sailune was the closest cove to Siaraag and the closest allied. This cove would have made the most sense for a matchup however like Siaraag, Sailune bore no male heir. Prince Philonel chose to marry a commoner thus making him still a prince, and had two girls of his own. Granted Sylphiel or another princess could marry Philonel and become a queen but Philonel was still very much happily married to his wife Princess (by marriage) Sarisa.

Zoanna was another problem, their cove only had one heir to the throne and it was also a girl. King Ryther of Zoanna had tried to have other children but after he and his wife Queen Arlina tried many times it was apparent that their little Martina would be the only child they could have.

The only hopes were both Atlas and Tarforashia. Between the two cove kingdoms they had three princes. Prince Zangulus of Atlas, and Princes Valgaav and Pokota of Tarforashia. Prince Valgaav and Prince Pokota were not brothers, but in fact cousins. Their mothers had been both sisters (the crown princesses of Tarforashia) so it was a tossup as to who was to inherit the throne. Prince Pokota's mother had been the older sister but Prince Valgaav's mother had married first. By that definition Prince Valgaav's mother should have been queen of Tarforashia. But she chose to marry a commoner making her keep the title of Princess till the day she died. Prince Pokota's mother was also deceased as the two sisters both suffered from the same congenital heart condition. That left Prince Pokota's father to be King. It was a sticky situation that could be easily solved if one of the two princes went to marry one of the Princesses from a cove with no male heir.

With three princes to four princesses it meant at best one of the princesses would not get the chance to become a queen.

King Erik didn't want his daughter to rule Siaraag alone so he was quite insistent that Sylphiel end up with one of those three princes. But he wasn't the only one.

Both Prince Philonel and King Ryther were also trying to get their daughters to snag the attentions of the three princes.

This whole ordeal was quite bothersome which is why Sylphiel wandered off to go sky watching in the first place. She had no interest in trying to secure her 'future' as a queen. She didn't want to get married just yet especially if she had to choose her suitor so soon.

Of the three princes Prince Pokota was considered the most handsome. His hair was purple, not a common shade amongst mermaids and mermen. And Pokota was kind and fair, a perfect choice for a king. But he was also the youngest, much younger than Sylphiel.

Prince Zangulus though didn't have Pokota's beautiful hue of hair; he had the darkest skin of all the princes. This quality made him quite attractive as most mermaids and mermen had such fair skin. But Zangulus was just as reluctant as Sylphiel in settling down at such a young age.

Lastly there was Prince Valgaav. He was the most common looking of the mermen princes. His skin was fair and his hair a bright aqua blue. But out of the princes he was the only one that was serious about getting married. That was of course because Valgaav wanted power, he wanted to be King. To him it mattered little who he married. Just as long as he married a princess.

Sylphiel wasn't particularly impressed by the choice of princes. If she had to pick one of them, she would have picked Prince Pokota as he would make the best king. But it was hard for Sylphiel get over the fact that she was almost five years older than the prince. Prince Zangulus was nice enough but was more focused on his spear training than becoming a king. And Prince Valgaav...

She didn't like him. He was rude, arrogant and bossy. Even if it was just a matter of dating and not marrying Sylphiel still would have preferred someone else.

As Sylphiel swam her way to the kingdom she passed many mermen and mermaids who flashed her smiles of support. Since Sylphiel was kind and sweet to all those around her, her subjects adored her. They just wanted her to be happy. Many of them prayed to Flagoon that one of the princes would choose her.

Sylphiel was grateful for the support but she really didn't want to get married just yet.

Inside the great hall all the royal families had gathered. Right away Sylphiel spotted her father and swam to be by his side.

"Sylphiel! Good Lina found you! I need to talk to you for a moment." King Erik excused himself and Sylphiel and the two of them went into a secluded room of the palace.

"Yes father what is it that you wished to discuss?" Sylphiel asked once the two of them were alone.

"You know the other families have gathered." King Erik started off.

Sylphiel sighed. "I know. And you want me to get engaged to one of the princes." Her voice held a strong tone of gloominess to it.

"Sylphiel you needn't sound like I'm asking you be imprisoned! You are the princess of Siaraag!"

"I know and it's important for the strength of the cove that I marry a prince and become a queen." Sylphiel finished off.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I won't live forever my dear. And the last thing I want is for you to be stuck ruling this cove alone when I die."

"Please don't talk like that father! You're going to live a long life still!" Sylphiel frowned. She hated when her father talked about death.

"No one lives forever my dear. The loss of your mother solidified that fact for me. It's been hard doing this without her and if you hadn't turned out to be such a wonderful, lovely lady it might have been harder still. I don't want to you to go through what I did."

"Father that's not going to happen!" Sylphiel protested. "You aren't going to die for a very long time."

"I would rather know you had someone ready in the wings for you in the event that my death does occur. I only care for your happiness my dear." King Erik reminded her.

"But father I don't want to marry any of those men." Sylphiel admitted.

"Why what is wrong with Prince Pokota? He'd make a fine king and he's extremely nice."

Sylphiel frowned once more. "I'm five year older than him father."

"I know but what does age matter? It's love that matters most."

"I don't love him either."

"You could, if you gave him a chance. And who's to say that Prince Zangulus or Prince Valgaav wouldn't make fine choices?"

"I suppose." Sylphiel let out another sigh. "I just don't like being pressured into making these decisions so early on."

"It's a duty of a princess I'm afraid. Now you need to go impress one of them. Show them how wonderful you are and I'm sure they won't be able to refuse you." King Erik ushered Sylphiel back out into the hall. The king then called for all the parents to come with him leaving only the princesses and princes in the hall to talk.

A table had been set up with several things to snack on. Right away Sylphiel swam over to it grabbing an urchin to nibble on. She wasn't particularly hungry, but at least she had something in her hands to distract her from the obvious match making session going on. She did a quick scan of the room looking at her 'targets' and her 'competition'.

The first one of the three princesses Sylphiel had as competition was Princess Martina of Zoanna. There wasn't anything particularly that made Martina stand out in her appearance. She was quite fair skinned like most mermaids and her hair was a bright aqua not at all unlike Prince Valgaav's hair. What made Martina stand out was her personality. She was extremely eager to get married and fell 'in love' with each pretty man she met. But her enthusiasm made her irritating and most princes ignored her.

The second and third princesses were the two crown princesses of Sailune. The elder princess was Princess Naga. Her name was actually Gracia but for whatever reason she chose to rename herself Naga. As far as appearances go Naga was extremely tall and busty. So even with her boring dark hair Naga was still attractive. However Naga seemed more interested in getting drunk then trying to get married.

Princess Amelia was the younger princess of Sailune. She was petite and sported dark hair just like her sister. Of the three princesses Amelia would certainly make the best queen. She was extremely fair and caring to those around her. She was adored by her people and the people of neighbouring coves for all the good works and charity she did. But Amelia was quite young and if a princess from Sailune were to be picked to wed her older sister would have made more sense. Amelia didn't seem to be old enough in both age and mentality to be a queen just yet. She was a bit too trusting and tended be a little gullible.

At present Princess Martina seemed to be trying to get the attention of both the Princes of Tarforashia who were both ignoring her, Princess Naga was getting drunk, Princess Amelia was working on some new justice papers, and Prince Zangulus was working on his spear training.

"Princess Sylphiel I must say I'm enjoying this trip to Siaraag even if it's just a shadow of the greatness of Tarforashia." Prince Valgaav commented swimming over to Sylphiel while completely brushing off Princess Martina.

Princess Martina scrunched her face into a frown at this snubbing and went back to harassing Prince Pokota.

"That's nice Prince Valgaav." Sylphiel commented through gritted teeth. She smiled at him though it was a strained one.

"You know why all our parents gathered here right?"

Sylphiel feigned ignorance. "Besides the usual political talk? No, I didn't think there was any other reasons."

"Well there is. You see most of us are getting to that age when we need to be thinking about marriage. Our parents are trying to set us up. So they've got us all here hoping we'll set ourselves up with each other. Which is pretty considerate when you think about it." Prince Valgaav explained.

"How is forcing children to make decisions on who they want to be marrying at such a young age considerate?" Sylphiel scoffed.

"In the old days the members of the royal family didn't have a choice in the matter of who they wanted to marry. The princes and princess were engaged without even meeting their future spouse. The arranged engagements were always based on strategic moves. So it is nice that we are all given the chance to pick who we wish to marry." By the look on Valgaav's face you could tell he was insinuating that the two of them together would be a good matching.

It made Sylphiel want to cringe but she chose not to show it. "I suppose when you look at it that way that does make sense. Princess Martina sure has shown an interest in you. Why she's given me some ugly looks right now because you're talking to me rather than her." Sylphiel spoke in a low voice hoping to deflect Valgaav's attention onto someone else. She wasn't lying; Martina really was really glaring at Sylphiel. It was clear that the Zoanna princess was jealous.

Prince Valgaav rolled his eyes at Sylphiel's suggestion. "I don't have much interest in her. She's rather plain looking and somewhat annoying. She seems rather full of herself wouldn't you say?"

That statement was so ironic that Sylphiel almost laughed out loud. Martina and Valgaav did seem like the two of them could be twins in both their appearance and personality. "I'm sure she has some unique charms that would make her a wonderful wife and queen."

"Maybe, but I think there are better choices in this room rather than her." His gaze was purely on Sylphiel at that moment and it was an intense one.

Sylphiel wanted to hide under a rock at that moment. Valgaav was being far too forward with her that she just wanted to get away.

"Princess Sylphiel!" Lina came busting into the hall looking frantic.

"Lina what's wrong?"

"You have to come there's something wrong with Draco!" Lina exclaimed.

Sylphiel's eyes went wide with fear. Draco was her pet sea monster and he was loveable creature whom Sylphiel had since he was very little. "Take me to him!"

Lina grabbed Sylphiel's hand and pulled her with her as she swam out of the palace.

"Lina what's wrong with Draco?" Sylphiel asked very worried as they got to the underwater cavern that Draco slept in.

"He's suffering a terrible condition!" Lina explained cryptically as she led Sylphiel inside.

"What? What is it?"

"The same thing I am, boredom!" Lina burst into giggles as Draco emerged happy to see company.

"Lina that's terrible!" Sylphiel exclaimed. "How could you make me think there was something wrong with my little Draco?" Sylphiel pet her 'little' sea monster on the head.

"Little? He's almost the size of a whale!" Lina scoffed.

"Still why did you do that?"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Oh come on you can't tell me that you're disappointed that I stole you away from Prince Full of Himself?"

"Still couldn't you have gone with another story? You almost gave me a heart attack! And what are we going to say when my father finds out? He'd be furious if he found out I skipped out on that gathering." Sylphiel slumped herself down against the wall of the cavern.

"If he asks I'll tell him that Draco was looking sick and wasn't eating. But once you came he started to feel better. You know your dad can't stay mad at you for very long. And what's the deal with the prince and princess gathering anyway?" Lina sat down next to her.

"My father and the other royal family members of the neighbouring coves are trying to match up their children." Sylphiel let out a sigh.

"And your choices are those three?"

"It's more like they get to choose who they want, as there are more princesses to princes." Sylphiel corrected Lina.

"You should just marry a commoner. It would be a lot easier."

"I'm a princess, Lina. I have my duties. Whether I like it or not I have to think about Siaraag Cove first before myself."

"You'll make a good queen one day Sylphiel." Lina put her around Sylphiel's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I hope so."

_(Author's Notes: As you may have noticed I took liberties with the names of characters in this story. Reason being is because despite my research I don't know the names of Martina's Dad and Mom, Amelia's Mom or Sylphiel's Mom. I chose the names Mia and Sarisa because I've used those names for Amelia and Sylphiel's mothers before. I know these names aren't correct, but if anyone can tell me what they are supposed to be I would very much appreciate it.)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: Just like last week, if you want to read the next part of this before I post it here on fanfiction . net then go to my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine:_

_relm . bravepages . com_

_(just remove the spaces in the address.) _

**Heavenly Tides**

Chapter Two, The Skies Above

By Relm

When you were high above resting on clouds, the world below looked so small. Al the worries that seem so important were somehow made insignificant with such a view. In the great scheme of things we were all just ants busying ourselves with day to day things.

High above worries were few. And who would worry perched so high above? The sky was so pristine, the sun so bright and clouds so soft and fluffy.

And from above there were so many things to see. Looking down you saw life with all its natural glory. There were great forests, mountains, rivers, lakes and planes. So many colours and so many creatures.

Yes look down at the land below there were many sights to see. But for one wingling high above there was only sight worth seeing... the ocean.

For this blond haired blue eyed wingling the ocean had been a place of wondrous mystery since he was very little. Gourry would dream of what it would be like to swim to the bottom of the ocean. To see all the mysterious creatures that dwelled there. He could only guess what it looked like down there. It was a completely unknown world to Gourry.

Gourry had gone down to the land before; many times in fact but he never swam in the ocean. He'd walked a couple feet into the sparkly blue water but he didn't swim, because he couldn't go far. Being a wingling Gourry couldn't swim.

A wingling looked exactly like a human save for one thing, they had wings. Since winglings were sky dwelling people they flew and liked to stay up high. They could come down to earth to get things like food but they couldn't stay for too long. Winglings were used to the thin air in the clouds and could only take the heavy air for so long.

Over the millennia humans had made legends about wingling sightings. Winglings tried not to be seen too often by humans but they had been seen enough for stories to develop. Because of their white wings, bright hair and the fact that they lived in the clouds the humans came to the conclusion that these winged creatures were 'angels'. An 'angel' was a heavenly being who was a servant to god. They were regarded as holy creatures that were good and pure as the halos over their heads. Angels were always just and could do no evil or harm.

The humans were of course wrong. Not to say that angels didn't exist or are good and pure, but winglings weren't angels.

Winglings did hold themselves to a high moral code but they weren't holy nor did they have halos hovering over their heads. But typically winglings did have bright hair so the humans did have that part right. Most winglings had hair in shades of white, white blonds, blond, reddish blonds and golden browns. And a lot of them were tanned.

While most winglings loved to fly more than anything Gourry wished he could swim.

"And there you go again Gourry getting lost at sea." A voice interrupted Gourry's thoughts.

Gourry looked to the owner of the voice. It belonged to Zelgadis one of Gourry's childhood friends. When it came to winglings it was very common for them to have light hair and tanned skin. Zelgadis wasn't any ordinary wingling. His short hair was light but not in a golden sense. It was a light lavender blue which was very uncommon for winglings. And his skin was quite fair in comparison to other winglings. It's for this reason that Zelgadis was considered very attractive, while Gourry was considered quite plain looking. Neither of the men cared what they looked like so nether treated the other for the way they looked.

"Hi Zel." Gourry greeted his friend in a sheepish little voice.

"You were told by the elders to quit this ocean day dreaming business." Zelgadis lectured Gourry as he usually did. "Dreaming of places you can't go will get you now where."

"But Zel I can't help it! It's so vast and mysterious. Don't you wonder what's down there?"

Zelgadis frowned. "To me the sea just looks like one big mirror. It only looks as good as the weather. If the sky is cloudy the water is dull, if the sky is clear then the water is a clear blue. The sky above the clouds are a brighter blue then the sea could ever manage to be."

Now it was Gourry's turn to frown. "The sky doesn't sparkle like the sea."

"Come on Gourry we have class starting soon." Zelgadis ushered Gourry to his feet.

"Already? I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" Gourry protested.

"That's a lie, I saw you eat a couple hours ago!" Zelgadis scoffed.

"That wasn't breakfast that was my early morning pre-breakfast snack." Gourry huffed defensively.

"How many meals do you eat a day? Twelve?"

"No I just eat the normal five full meals a day." Gourry stated matter-of-factly.

"Gourry that's three full meals and two snacks." Zelgadis corrected him.

"No I'm pretty sure I remembered it being five full meals." Gourry insisted.

Zelgadis chose not to argue with Gourry on this point. Gourry was pretty rigid about his meals so there was no way Zelgadis was going to change his mind about the subject. "Are you going to be able to last till after class?"

"That depends on what class it is."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "Gourry why do you never know what class it is? It's the same class we have this day of the week every week."

"Well how can I know if I don't even know what day of the week it is?" Gourry shot back rather proud of himself for coming up with that retort so quickly.

Zelgadis on the other hand wasn't so impressed. "Well it's not Rodimus teaching today if that gives you any hints."

"Ah man I like Rodimus' swordsmen classes." Gourry grumbled.

"But you said that you would be okay provided it wasn't a physical class!"

"Rodimus lets me eat in between spars." Gourry explained.

"Of course..." Zelgadis shook his head.

"So who is teaching today? It's not Valbazard is it? His history classes are sooo boring!"

Zelgadis chuckled. Gourry had fallen asleep in history class on more than one occasion. Because of this Valbazard had a grudge against Gourry. "Would you rather have Rangort's mortal law class?"

Gourry made a face. He also fell asleep in Rangort's class too. "Really mortal law?"

"No."

"Well that just leaves Ragradia's earth studies or Valwyn's aerial class." Gourry frowned. He didn't mind Ragradia's class as he loved to study the earth as a whole. And Ragradia was also very keen on teaching about the ocean. But given Gourry's concentration levels it was hard for him to stay focus enough. Often he found himself daydreaming in class. This caused Ragradia to get angry on one than one occasion.

When it came to class Gourry naturally excelled at the physical ones. Gourry was strong and athletic but definitely not a brainy fellow. One could argue is that it's not that Gourry's intelligence wasn't high enough it's just that the material in front of him didn't interest him enough. But that was just as wrong as calling him stupid. Gourry was just too distracted. He had a wondering mind that ebbed and flowed like the ocean. He spent more time in his head than he did applying his mind to situations around him. But when it came to physical classes you had to focus, otherwise you could get yourself hurt.

Out of all of Valwyn's wingling students Gourry was the most proficient with his flying. He could fly faster than anyone and do all kinds of aerial stunts. And Gourry did love the class, but it was extremely physical and not good to do on a nearly empty stomach.

"Which one would you rather have today? Valwyn or Ragradia?" Zelgadis wondered. He himself preferred Valbazard's history class as Zelgadis did like to study the past.

"I'm too hungry for Valwyn." Gourry mumbled with his stomach grumbling in agreement.

"So you'd rather be in Ragradia's class?" Zelgadis assumed that Gourry didn't. He like everyone else figured that Gourry hated intellectual classes.

"Is it him today?" Gourry asked somewhat excited about the prospect.

Zelgadis looked at Gourry like he sprouted another head. Who was this man flying next to him? "No, it's Valwyn."

Gourry sighed in disappointment. "Do you have anything on you I could munch on?"

"No I don't."

"Are you sure? Not even a small piece of jerky?" Gourry sprouted a puppy dog face in order to get something out of pity.

Zelgadis' scrunched his face into a frown as he had to look away from Gourry's ridiculous expression. "No and stop doing that. It's disturbing."

"I guess I'll just starve to death." Gourry sighed letting himself fall midflight.

"Gourry!" Zelgadis angrily yelled grabbing Gourry pulling him back up. "Don't joke around like that! Do you want to fall down to the earth?"

"Zel you worry too much." Gourry smiled sheepishly.

The two wingings joined the others that had gathered in the massive teaching arena. Right away Gourry spotted a few he knew. First off there was Filia whom many joked was actually Gourry's twin sister. It's not that they had similar personality quirks it was because the two of them had long blond hair and blue eyes. But Filia's eyes were a brighter blue and her skin wasn't as tanned. Gourry did think of Filia as a sister and usually took her side when it came to her fights with Xellos.

Xellos was another wingling who if you believed that winglings were angels then he was really a devil in angel's clothing. There wasn't a wingling more annoying and mischievous than him. Xellos constantly was pulling pranks irritating as many people as he could. Part of the reason why Xellos away with so many things was because he attractive. Like Zelgadis Xellos wasn't golden haired or tanned. His hair was purple and so was his eyes. And his skin was very fair and he was extremely charming. Almost anyone he harassed couldn't stay angry at him for long because Xellos could charm his way out of anything. His favorite target was Filia. If you asked him why he chose to torture the seemingly plain looking wingling it was for a couple different reasons. To him she was the most beautiful even if she had such plain looking hair because no one could get angry quite like she did. Not to mention Filia was extremely stubborn and refused to be charmed by Xellos. Of course Filia did find Xellos charming and she hated it.

At present it looked like Filia was sitting in her spot trying to pay attention to the class that was about to start while Xellos was sitting next to her. Filia's expression seemed to be strained as she was seemingly trying to ignore the purple haired wingling who was bothering her.

Gourry frowned. "Xellos is bugging Filia again." He whispered nudging Zelgadis to look.

Zelgadis just rolled his eyes. "So? He's always bothering her."

"Well shouldn't we do something about it?"

Zelgadis shook his head. "No, because then that fruitcake will start bothering us. And I'd much rather be as far away from that idiot as possible. Besides class is about to start."

Everyone quieted down and took their seats as their teacher flew down before the classroom. Given what day it was the teacher should have been Valwyn standing before them ready to teach his aerial class. The teacher in question turned out to be Ragradia.

Right away Gourry shot Zelgadis a smug look conveying his amusement that Zelgadis was both wrong and didn't know what day it was.

Zelgadis on the other hand was quite disturbed by this. Had he actually gotten the days wrong?

Zelgadis wasn't the only one confused. Several winglings were murmuring amongst themselves.

"Silence!" Ragradia shushed everyone. "I realize some of you are confused as to why Valwyn isn't here to teach his class. Well it seems he has a touch of stomach flu and can't teach today. So the other elders asked if I could teach in his place."

"You're going to teach aerial class?" Hallas one of the student winglings exclaimed. Which got a roaring laugh out of the class. Ragradia wasn't known for his flying skills; out of all the elders he was possibly the slowest flyer.

Ragradia glared at the student. "Would you like to teach the class? Because I'm pretty sure that would be a laugh!" He growled getting in Hallas' face.

"No sir! I'm sorry sir!" Hallas shrunk away timidly.

"Alright now that that's out of the way, no I am not teaching an aerial class. Nor am I teaching one of my normal earth studies classes. I thought for fun today we'd focus on earth folklore. Particularly creatures." Ragradia set up the projection device and displayed the first image, an angel. "Humans have a tendency to make stories or myths to explain things they don't understand. Sightings of our kind have spurred them to make myths about 'angels' high in the heavens working for a higher power. This is exactly why we're not supposed to be seen by their kind. The last thing we want to do is alter their way of life by making them further convinced of our 'heavenly' existence."

Ragradia clicked the projection button to produce the next image. It was one of a man with goat characteristics. "This is what they call a satyr. An interesting creature who is mischievous, loves to chase after women and cause trouble."

Right away everyone's eyes turned to Xellos.

Xellos frowned. "I do not look like a goat."

"Ah-hem!" Ragradia cleared his throat. "There are also other half human half animal creatures." He went to the next projection, "centaurs," he went to the next image, "minotaur," and again, "and hanumans. They even have animal and animal creations. Like horses." Ragradia went to a projection of two horse creatures, one with wings and the other with a horn. "This is a pegasus and a unicorn. While pegasus was part of a mythological story, unicorns were thought to be real because of horns of dead narwhals washing up on shore. And there are also human animal monsters." Ragradia went to an image of a werewolf and a vampire. "These are creatures that can pass off as human but can transform. But do you know what all these creatures have in common?"

There was a collective silence among the class.

"They're just myth. Not real creatures. Humans do tend to have active imaginations. But even if that's the case like in the case of our kind they do have some tales that are centered in some truth." Ragradia went to an image of an ivory white woman with dark hair and a fish tale instead of legs. "This as you may or may not know is a mermaid."

If Gourry's attention had been wandering it was brought back into focus with this picture. He had heard of merpeople before but he had never seen a picture of one. And even though this picture was just a drawing it was a beautiful one at that.

"Mermaids and mermen live in the ocean and like us can't stay on land for too long. Because of that there haven't been too many sightings of these creatures. We do know they exist but much of what we know about them is still a mystery."

Gourry just had to put his hand to ask a question.

Ragradia had to refrain from laughing when he saw who wanted to ask a question. Of course it was Gourry. 'That boy sure has an unnatural obsession with the sea.' "Yes Gourry? What's your question?"

"Has anybody tried to meet a mermaid before? Because if you did then they wouldn't be such a mystery." Gourry suggested.

"That may be true but we're not allowed to for the same reason why aren't to talk to humans. We don't want to change their way of life with knowledge of our existence. Since we know nothing about them, it could be dangerous to encounter one of them. What if we got too close and one of them pulled one of us down into the sea with them? That person would surely die. And even if that weren't the case what's the point of getting to know someone who lives in a completely different world? We can't live in their world no more than they could live in ours."

Gourry put his hand up again.

"Yes Gourry?"

"So even if merpeople are nice we aren't allowed to talk to them?"

Ragradia sighed. "No Gourry we're not. Just like we're not allowed to talk to humans either."

Again Gourry's hand went up.

Ragradia knew what the question was. "If anyone is caught talking to a human or a merperson they will punished by being banished, imprisoned or executed."

Gourry's hand went down.

"Now I want to talk about some of mythological stories that go with some of these creatures..." Ragradia went back to his projections.

Gourry sighed as he tuned out Ragradia's lesson. In his mind he was thinking about the ocean and about mermaids.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Notes: Again you can find the next part to this fanfic on my shrine: _

_relm . bravepages . com - on the fandom page (just remove the spaces for the link)_

_Before you find in here on fanfiction . net. Otherwise you'll just have to wait. _

**Heavenly Tides**

Chapter Three, The Land Between Them

By Relm

Spending time with Lina and Draco in Draco's dwelling was a nice diversion from the things going on at the castle but Sylphiel knew she had to go back.

"Would you like me to do something to the other princesses?" Lina suggested on the swing back to the castle.

"Whatever do you mean Lina?" Sylphiel questioned not knowing what Lina was suggesting.

"Well let's say something happens to one of the princesses. Like one of them wakes up with all their hair gone... Then that's one less princess to have as competition."

"Lina!" Sylphiel exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

"Well that way you'd be sure to get the attention of at least one of the princes."

Sylphiel sighted. "I already have the attention of one of them. I just don't like him."

"Well if you had to choose who would you pick?"

"Prince Pokota most likely."

Lina scrunched her face up into a frown. "Why? He's a runt... way too young for you."

"Well he would make the best king."

"What about that Atlas prince? He's at least the right age."

"Prince Zangulus is often... distracted. He doesn't seem too interested in getting married. Not that I blame him."

"Hey what's going on now?" Lina wondered as the two of them got closer to the castle.

From the outside it appeared that all the ruling monarchs were now with their children gathered in the conference area. Like as it one big forum was about to occur.

"I don't know." Sylphiel murmured as the two of them went into the castle.

"Ah Sylphiel is Draco okay?" King Erik his daughter right as soon as he saw her. Ever since Sylphiel was little she had Draco as a pet and companion. In a way Draco was more than a pet, but a member of the family. King Erik was just as concerned for the sea monster's safety and health as Sylphiel.

"He wasn't eating." Lina answered for Sylphiel could open her mouth. Lina was a better liar after all. "I was worried there was something terribly wrong with him. But I guess he was just feeling lonely and missing Princess Sylphiel. He perked right up when she showed up."

"Ah yes of course that Draco is quite attached to our dear Sylphiel. Perhaps we've all been ignoring him as of late. I think it would be a good idea for us to be a little more considerate of little Draco in the future and try to spend more time with him." King Erik mused.

"That would probably be a good idea." Lina agreed.

"Now Lina thank you for escorting my Sylphiel back. If you'll excuse us we have an important matter to discuss."

Lina nodded. "Yes my liege."

Once Lina left Sylphiel and King Erik took their spots so the discussion could begin.

"Now this gathering might seem like any other of our usual gathering," King Erik stated off the forum, "but I assure you there are pressing matters to discuss."

Right away Prince Pokota's hand shot with a question ready.

"Yes Prince Pokota what is it?" King Erik acknowledged the young Tarforashian prince.

"I realize all the monarchs of the big coves gather to have these meetings. But usually us children aren't privy to them. Why are we being included this time?"

"This is a very good question. All of you are getting to ages where you should be getting ready to ascend your perspective thrones. Therefore the concerns of the kingdom should be common knowledge for you all. As they are concerns that effect all of us. The topic of this particular gathering is invaders." King Erik produced two large stone etches for everyone to see. They both looked to be human save for one thing. The 'human' in the picture on the left had wings. "I know going up to the land isn't something that everyone does so knowledge of these two creatures might be limited. But if you don't know what they are, then I'll tell you these are humans and winglings. Humans are land dwellers while winglings live in the sky. Usually our kind has little to do with either race but runs ins are becoming more and more frequent. Humans are swimming and fishing more getting further into our seas.

It is very possible that a human might try to catch one of our kind for food, sport or as a trophy. It is very important to stay as far away from humans as possible. At present humans believe our kind are a myth. Let's not encourage them by letting them see us. Humans can be very unpredictable creatures."

"With humans getting further and further into our seas what should we do to defend ourselves?" King Ballish of Atlas questioned the group.

"We should try and deal with the situation in a diplomatic mater." Prince Philonel of Sailune suggested. "Surely the humans are logical people open to reasonable discussion."

Prince Gaav of Tarforashia scoffed at this idea. "Humans are barbaric creatures that will stop at nothing to get what they want. You can't reason with vile things like them."

"Then what are suggesting Gaav?" King Porison of Tarforashia asked his brother-in-law.

"If humans invade our home they should be dealt with."

"Gaav! You can't surely mean we should kill them?" King Porison was appalled by Gaav's suggestion.

"If they invade into Tarforashia then that is exactly what I intend to do."

"I think not!" King Porison protested. "As King of Tarforashia I forbid it. Especially when I happen to agree with Prince Philonel. Diplomacy is the best course of action!"

"Will diplomacy be such a good idea after one our children is hunted, killed, stuffed and mounted on some human's wall?" Prince Gaav dramatically exclaimed. "What of you Prince Philonel? Would you feel so diplomatic if they took your youngest daughter Amelia?"

"Prince Gaav!" King Erik bellowed. "Desist with the theatrics! We are not at the point where we need to worry about such matters."

"Should we wait till it's too late to discuss these matters? We should take action now!"

"Yes I agree some measures should be made. Which is part of the reason for this discussion. Strengthening of our castles should be a must as for mandatory spear and trident training. But that's only for defence if it comes to that. I believe diplomacy would be the best course of action for everyone, but we should be prepared for the worst. That means making sure our people know what the right and wrong things to do concerning humans. For now hiding is best. I don't want any merperson to be seen by humans at all."

Sylphiel naturally had to put her hand up with a question.

"Yes Sylphiel?"

"What about the winglings?" Since Sylphiel was so interested in the sky naturally she wondered about winglings. With their white wings and golden hair they looked exactly like angles in the stories of the land she had been told as a child. And if she didn't know about winglings she would have surely figured that a wingling was an angel. But of course Sylphiel had never seen a wingling or an angel before.

"Under no circumstances are you or anyone else to talk to or engage a wingling. We know next to nothing about their kind. They could be very dangerous."

"How so?" The idea seemed so strange to Sylphiel. They looked just like angels, and angels wouldn't hurt anyone would they?

"If one of them were to grab one of us they could fly us high up in the sky. Being out of the water in the thin air would surely kill one of us."

Sylphiel frowned. She didn't want to believe any creature could be capable of evil but she knew that wasn't the case. Evil existed whether she liked it or not.

Zangulus put his hand up.

"Yes Prince Zangulus?"

"You say we need to hide. Does that mean we can't go out of the water? Like to go on land?"

"That's exactly right. I do not want to hear of any mermaid or merman going above the water!" King Erik announced. "For now land is off limits."

Sylphiel inwardly sighed. Going to land wasn't something that she particularly cared about but it did effectively hamper her sky watching past time. She could see the sky from below the waves but it was always easier to see from above the water.

"Now onto more pleasant things. I've already mentioned the ages of you children. And how it's time you all start to thinking about the responsibilities you are going to be faced with. One of those will be considering marriage. A kingdom needs a king and queen. And I know in older times royal engagements were arranged but we are not ogres. We will not force arranged engagements on any of you. But seeing how your time in Siaraag cove is going to be an extended one it would be nice by time you leave that some engagements be decided."

Right away Sylphiel felt Prince Valgaav's eyes on her. She unconsciously shuddered.

...

After being told that you're forbidden to do something can make you want to do it more. If you were a rebellious type you would certainly do that thing you aren't supposed to do. If you were the good girl/boy type then you would most certainly sit and sulk.

Gourry wasn't rebellious at all. He was the type who always tried to do the right thing and not cause trouble. Of course this particular wingling wasn't perfect so he had caused trouble on occasion, but that was almost always an accident.

So faced with the news that he could never talk to anyone besides winglings it left Gourry a little sad. He knew before that he wasn't allowed to talk to them. But he always figured that it was for a good reason. He didn't know you could be executed for it, or least he didn't think he had known. It was quite possible that he had been told before and he either wasn't listening or forgot.

The reason to Gourry seemed very silly. Yes it was possible that these non cloud dwelling people could be dangerous but it seemed a bit narrow minded to Gourry. What if humans and merpeople were very nice and friendly? Should you get killed for just saying hello?

After the class Gourry grabbed some things to eat and decided to descend down to his favourite thinking spot to eat. Since winglings preferred the thin air Gourry always chose to do his thinking on top of a high rocky formation. What made this spot special was its location. Surrounding this rocky place was ocean. One might have called this place a beach if there was a sandy spot to stand. But this 'beach' had no sand. It was just waves crashing against the high rock face. Where Gourry choose to perch few could get to. One couldn't climb these rocks as it was slippery in some parts and jagged in others. You could almost call this rocky place an island as it was a bit far off from the stretch of land closest to it. But if you took away the water you would see it was connected to the land, it was just this one spot that rose high from the sea level.

It was possible to get to this spot while walking from the land but it was usually during low tide. And even then the shore was rocky. Swimming would have been the best method to get to this secret spot (besides flying.) But who would want to swim to a place of just rocks?

Since this place was so remote and hard to get to it was a perfect place for Gourry to go and watch the ocean. Humans didn't go there and he had never seen a merperson show up at this spot. But then again Gourry had never seen a merperson at all as it was. If they did swim these parts they didn't make their presence known.

So Gourry ate from his high spot watching the waves.

...

Once the meeting was adjourned Sylphiel got out of the castle quickly and sped off. After what her father said about engagements Sylphiel was sure that Prince Valgaav was going to corner her and ask her to marry him. She had no intentions of marrying him but at the same time she didn't want to be faced with having to say no to him.

Sylphiel knew she couldn't avoid Prince Valgaav forever but at least she could get away from him for now.

The place Sylphiel swam to was one she went to often when she wanted to get away from everything. The reason why she liked this place was because above the water there was nothing but rocks. It wasn't a sandy beach that people flocked to. It almost looked like a tall rock island that climbed upwards to high heights. There wasn't anything worth seeing there except the rocks and the sky. Sylphiel knew that humans didn't venture to this place and why would they? There were no pretty vegetation, it wasn't a good fishing spot nor was there animals to hunt. So Sylphiel knew this was a safe spot to go.

Sylphiel's gut reaction when she reached this particular area of her cove was break the water surface and rest herself against the rock face so she could look up. But her father's words replayed over and over in her head. She couldn't go up to the land. Sylphiel had to stay in the water.

Looking up to the sky from under the water Sylphiel found herself looking to the sky above the rocky island. The sun was bright making it hard to focus on the rocks. But then again why would Sylphiel be looking at the rocks? It was the sky that interested her. But high on top of that rock island peak something sat perched being bathed in the sunlight.

'What is that up there?' Sylphiel tried to focus on the figure high up above. It took her a moment to realize it was person, a man. His hair was as golden as the sun that bathed him and his skin was bronzed. But what caught Sylphiel's eyes the most was his beautiful white wings. Sylphiel was so awe in the majestic beauty of this man that Sylphiel didn't realize she had swam to the water surface with her face half out of the water.

_(Author's Notes: Again I took liberties with names. If anyone knows the correct names then please let me know. Otherwise I'll just continue using the ones I've used before.)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Notes: As I have said before anything that goes on fanfiction . net and my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine_

_relm . bravepages . com _

_will show up on my shrine a week before it shows up on here. So if you don't want to have to wait till it gets posted here check my shrine, it will go on there first. _

**Heavenly Tides**

Chapter Four, Meet me Halfway

By Relm

It was a strange feeling when you were being watched. You didn't necessarily need to see the person who was staring at you or know there was somewhere there to know there was someone looking at you. It was some strange sixth sense people seemed to have that was hard to explain. Perhaps it was some sort of genetically inherent survival trait to warn people of potential predators.

That moment sitting high perched up on that rocky hill Gourry wasn't thinking about predators. He had just finished his food and was just staring out at the ocean aimlessly. He didn't have a transfixed spot he was staring at. Gourry was just looking at the vastness of the water. And why should Gourry be thinking about predators? What creature could possibly be a danger to a wingling so high up? Only another wingling so Gourry wasn't too concerned.

But as Gourry sat there up high he felt the hairs go up on the back of his neck. Something was watching him, something close.

Gourry's first thought was it was a wingling up in the sky somewhere. But a quick scan of the sky showed him nothing. He also didn't see anything on the land behind him, as that area was far away and all grass. There wasn't a place for someone to hide and spy on him from the land. There didn't seem to be anyone flying or standing in a spot where they could be watching him from the land or the sky. By process of elimination the sea was only spot where someone could be. But that didn't seem plausible as Gourry would have noticed someone swimming by the rock face. A human can only hold their breath for so long after all.

Even though he didn't think it was Gourry still looked to the sea doing a quick scan to see any person wading in the water. But as Gourry looked all he saw in that big blue ocean was just more blue. 'I must be imagining it.' Gourry wrote off the feel as being in his head and just sighed.

Try as he may he couldn't ignore that strange feeling. Even if you did decide there wasn't something watching you you couldn't stop looking around. You always felt like there was something you missed. So there you were trying to ignore that feeling and your eyes were still unconsciously looking for the source of the eerie feeling.

'Knock it off brain there's no one around by me!' Gourry scolded himself but still his eyes wandered. While doing another pass of the sea Gourry saw something he didn't notice before. Floating and bobbing in the ocean was something almost the same sparkly blue of the ocean. It was hard to focus on as the sun was reflecting off the water making each small ripple light up with a thousand shimmers. Eventually Gourry managed to make it out, it was the top part of a person's head. And just above the water Gourry could see a pair of eyes looking up at him.

'Is that a human?' Gourry wondered. He tried to get a better look at the figure in the water without trying to be too obvious. As he looked he did notice one thing, the person's lower half of their face was in the water. It was very unlikely this person could manage to breathe in the water or hold their breath for that long. So that left three possibilities. One this wasn't a person at all and Gourry was just seeing things. Two it was a person but they had drowned or died and their body was just bobbing away in the ocean currents. The last possibility felt the most likely to Gourry; that he was staring at a merperson.

In the water Sylphiel knew she should look away. She was risking being spotted the longer she stayed in one spot. And she still didn't realize that part of her head was exposed. She just couldn't stop staring. A wingling, a real live wingling! Sylphiel had always wondered if she would ever see one in her lifetime. And after years of looking up into the sky she finally got to see one. Sylphiel wanted to come out of the water and say something to him. But what would you say to a wingling? Not that Sylphiel could do that. She wasn't allowed to go to land or talk with the wingling. So this was just a tease to Sylphiel. 'It's almost as though he's looking right at me.'

Gourry wanted to fly down to get a better look at the figure in the water but he knew he couldn't. Even if he didn't have to worry about being penalized for talking to a merperson him flying would certainly scare whoever it was away. He didn't realize as he was staring he was leaning forward. In an effort to see the person better he unconsciously leaned. But doing so on such a precarious perch was a dangerous thing to do. As Gourry leaned part of the rock race crumbled causing him to almost fall right off. Using his wings as balancers Gourry righted himself and quickly sat back down. Looking out at the ocean he lost sight of the person who was staring at him. If he/she had been there he/she wasn't there now.

'Great I scared the person away.' Gourry mentally grumbled. 'Either that or there was never anyone there.'

The wingling's sudden moves had startled Sylphiel and shrunk back down into the sea. It was then that Sylphiel realized that she hadn't been completely submerged in the first place. 'He really was looking at me! Because I was stupidly letting my head stay out of the water!' Sylphiel could have kicked herself for doing something so stupid. Well she would have kicked herself if she could, but that was a hard thing to manage for someone who didn't have legs to start off with.

Spying a look up again Sylphiel saw the wingling frantically looking at the ocean. It was clear to Sylphiel that the wingling had seen her and now was trying to find her again. That spooked Sylphiel and she turned herself around so she could swim downwards. 'You're so stupid Sylphiel! And after just being in that gathering too! How could you let yourself get spotted so easily?'

As Gourry tried to re-spot the person that had been watching him a green fishlike tail broke the water surface flapping upward before going down into the water again. If Gourry hadn't been sure it was a merperson who had been watching him before he was sure now.

'It was a merperson!' Gourry's eyes were wide. 'And I scared it off too... I wish I could see one up close...' He thought miserably. But as he was about to beat himself up for startling the merperson he realized something. Yes he wasn't supposed to engage a human or a merperson in a conversation but that didn't mean that he couldn't get a closer look at one. Well Gourry still shouldn't try to get close to a merperson or a human but he was too curious not want to bend the rules a bit.

With a decision to look and not talk Gourry flew off his sitting spot and landed at the base of the rocky island. Though his feet were standing on some rocks he was still ankle deep in ocean water. Gourry almost recoiled at the feel of the water at his feet. After sitting in the sun all day the water was almost unbearably cold. After taking a moment to refocus himself, Gourry turned his attentions back to the water. He tried to see what lay in its sparkly depths. But all he could see in the blue water was just blue.

After swimming down a bit Sylphiel turned herself back upwards and looked to the land once more. But what she found wasn't a person sitting on a rocky looking down at the water but a man standing right at the water's surface. The wingling had come down closer to the water.

Sylphiel knew the wingling couldn't see into the water too well so she felt safe enough to study the wingling since he was so close. From afar she could tell he had golden hair and bronzed skin but she hadn't realized how handsome he was. Wrapped around his waist he wore a sky blue cloth that was just long enough to cover him mid thigh. It did nothing to hide the fact that his body was very well defined with lots of muscles. His blond hair was much longer than Sylphiel had anticipated and it was so shiny in the sunlight. Part of his bangs swept across half his face covering one of his perfect blue eyes. The hair did nothing to hide the wingling's angelic looking face. To Sylphiel she had never seen a man that looked so perfect.

'He's a wingling, you can't talk to him.' Sylphiel reminded herself. But as her sensible side wasn't being quiet Sylphiel couldn't help but be drawn to the wingling. Usually Sylphiel wasn't the type of person to be entranced by a person's looks. To Sylphiel it wasn't the way the person looked that made them appealing but the person they were on the inside. So for Sylphiel to let this strange attraction over rule her senses was very strange and out of character for her. Again she felt like kicking herself, this time for being so weak.

'It's just because he's so different from you.' Sylphiel told herself. 'It's not that you're shallow, you just find him so attractive because he's something you've never seen before.'

Try as Sylphiel did, Sylphiel couldn't ignore his attractiveness. The more she looked at him the harder it was to look away. But she deep down there was something about the way the wingling looked that drew her in that was nothing to do with his outward appearance. Looking at him Sylphiel could see a sense of purity in his eyes. This wasn't an evil man meaning to do her harm. Why she'd bet her left fin that this wingling had never hurt anyone before in his life. There was just no way he could have. There was a good kindness to his face that made Sylphiel want to trust him.

Even if Sylphiel was entranced by his looks she wasn't stupid. She wasn't about to risk her own safety to satisfy her curiosity. Or at least that what Sylphiel thought. Even as she looked up at him Sylphiel was fighting the urge to swim back up to the water surface.

Gourry frowned as he looked at the ocean. He couldn't see anything besides water. "I guess the person left. Probably swam down to the bottom of the sea." Gourry mumbled to himself feeling very envious. Knowing he shouldn't spend so much time on land Gourry decided it was probably be best to go back to the sky. With one last lingering look at the sea Gourry went to take off.

Sylphiel saw the wingling jump from the rocks take to the sky. She had managed to keep her impulses at bay but seeing the wingling fly off just put Sylphiel over the edge. She had to see him. So quickly up to the water's surface Sylphiel swam in time to see the winging fly away.

Though Gourry was disappointed to not get a chance to look at the merperson more closely the moment he took the sky all ill feelings left him. Winglings were creatures of the sky and flying was something they were born to do. So as Gourry flew in the sky he wasn't content to just fly up to the clouds and go home. No Gourry had to do all kinds of areal tricks. He did loops and fast turns showing just why he was one of the best flyers of the winglings in the eastern clouds.

Sylphiel just couldn't stay in the water for this show. No she had to get her head into the air and see the wingling's flight properly. She'd seen birds fly in the sky before but it was nothing like what this wingling could do. It almost as though the wingling was dancing in the air to unheard music playing in the wind. 'It's so beautiful...'

Gourry may have been enjoying his areal dance but he couldn't ignore that feeling that stuck him again. Someone was watching him. Looking down as he spiralled around he managed to get sight of the person who had been watching him. It wasn't just a merperson; it was a mermaid, and a beautiful one at that. Her long dark hair was a raven blue that shimmered from the sea water that dripped off it and her skin looked porcelain white. She wore a pink seashell bra that was just a few shades darker than her skin and Gourry could see just the edge of where her mermaid tail met her smooth skin around her waist. Never before had Gourry ever seen someone look that beautiful. When you were used to seeing nothing but tanned people with light hair to see something so different was awe inspiring.

Being so captivated by someone's beauty was possible to stop a person dead in their tracks. It happened all the time, a person is walking and sees something so beautiful that they have to stop and stare. This wasn't usually a dangerous thing to happen but that wasn't the case when you were flying. Because Gourry was so distracted by the mermaid in the water he lost his focus and started to spiral out of control. Before he knew it he was heading for a collision course with the ocean he so admired.

"Oh no!" Sylphiel exclaimed in horror as she watched the wingling she had been admiring crashing into the water with a big terrifying splash.

Hitting the water rather than diving into it can be a very painful thing. But for someone who wasn't accustomed to driving or 'belly flopping' into the water it wasn't just painful, it was shocking. Almost the moment Gourry's hit the water he was out cold.

Sylphiel knew she wasn't supposed to be go above water. Sylphiel knew she wasn't supposed to be seen by humans or winglings. Sylphiel knew she wasn't supposed to engage winglings or humans at all. But there was no way Sylphiel was going to let someone die when she could stop it. With all the speed that mermaids can Sylphiel swam over to the fallen 'angel'.

...

When Gourry awoke the first thing he saw was bright light. All around him was bright warm light. Gourry's first thought was that he was dead and in heaven. Because that's what heaven was supposed to be like right? It was warm and filled with pure bright light. But if you were dead and in heaven you wouldn't feel pain. Gourry was feeling pain.

The sounds of the water and the feel of the rocks under him told Gourry he was alive. A dark figure loomed over him blocking out some of the light. The silhouette was that of a female.

"Are you okay?" The womanly silhouette questioned him. Her voice was soft and almost melodious.

Gourry just blinked as he tried to remember what exactly happened. It didn't help matters that the woman's voice was so soothing and distracting. "I fell... in the water..." Gourry groaned as he tried to sit up. His body felt heavy, sore and cold from the ocean he had fallen into. But he forgot about all that when he looked into her perfect emerald green eyes. Resting on the rocks with her fishtail out of the water was that very same mermaid from before. He had thought she was beautiful from afar but he had no idea how much till he sat there across from her. "Did you... save me?"

Sylphiel blushed as she shied away from the wingling's intense gaze. "I pulled you out. You would have drowned otherwise."

"Thank you for saving my life." Gourry flashed her a bright smile exposing his pearly white teeth.

"It was me that made you fall wasn't it?" Sylphiel's voice was soft almost withdrawn.

"Well...I..." Gourry didn't know what to say. He didn't want to tell her that it was her that almost made him kill himself but he didn't want to lie to her either.

Sylphiel didn't need to hear his answer. She could see it all over her face. Her father had warned her not to go engage in contact with winglings because they could hurt her. And instead she almost got one killed. "I shouldn't be talking to you. I need to go." Sylphiel went to swim off.

"WAIT!" Gourry called out to the mermaid before she could swim off.

Sylphiel looked back at the wingling.

"I'm Gourry." He said to her.

"Sylphiel." She responded before swimming off.


End file.
